MCCSCourse, registration open

The course will discuss principles, approaches and resources that neuroscientists can use to navigate the literature and develop future research paths.

Specifically. the course will introduce a new set of practical tools that neuroscientists can use in their work, including the Neuroscience Information Framework and ResearchMaps designed to address the ever growing complexity of neuroscience studies. The course will emphasize a hands on approach to these key tools guided by the people that had a central role in developing them.

The Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF) is a dynamic inventory of Web-based neuroscience resources: data, materials, and tools accessible via any computer connected to the Internet. NIF advances neuroscience research by enabling discovery and access to public research data and tools worldwide through an open source, networked environment.

Researchmaps are simplified, interactive and unbiased representations of previous findings that are invaluable in preparing research surveys, in guiding experiment planning, and in evaluating research plans. They are a graphical approach to summarizing large amounts of complex experimental findings in causal weighted networks. Although research maps can be derived with nothing more than pen and paper, the course will introduce a new completely free and open source web app (ResearchMaps) that can be used to facilitate the generation and use of these maps.


Although primarily intended for graduate students and post-docs, all neuroscientists are welcome to participate in the course. The course is free, but registration is needed because there is limited seating.